Broadcasting: The Beeb Lightens Up

The Beeb Lightens Up

"We were verging on the pompous," says John Tusa, managing director for the World Service of the British Broadcasting Corp. So, to compete with TV and satellite broadcasts, the BBC has updated its venerable radio World Service with a format a spokesman cautiously calls "a bit more relaxed, a bit less formal." A bit. The 25 million addicts around the globe can still tune in to the World Service's news broadcasts, long noted for the accuracy of their reporting, but the format will be slightly less stuffy. Announcers will address correspondents with more informality, as in "Tony, thanks very much." Colloquialisms...